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Let me start off that I really like good, real food, and love to try different ethnic foods. But...
We go out of our way to find a Taco Johns. I never ate out much growing up, but once in awhile we would go to Taco Johns as a treat. Then, as poor, vegetarian college students in a tiny town, my husband and I would eat there. Really, it's the Potato Oles.
Anyhow, we moved away to areas that didn't have the chain, so now when we are in Taco John territory, we make it a priority to find one. And really, it's isn't all that great (and nothing compared to the burros you get around the border), but it's comfort food. And did I mention potato oles?
I used to get deep dish pizza in one region I was at.
Nowadays, I keep things simpler and go for food that isn't local. It can be something like a Wendys, Chipotle, or local Mexican joint. On the more "fancy" end, I spring for steakhouses, places that can cook up a decent steak even if they aren't officially steakhouses, Indian food, or BBQ.
BBQ, cheesesteaks if we're not in Philly because my wife is picky and she loves cheesesteaks, seafood and then pizza if we're somewhere I know the pizza is not good. Might as well look for the best of the worst!
of course good regional food for starters: If I am near an InandOut that would be one: good Chinese food and certainly top of the line Seafood. Living in the middle of the country it is rare we get fresh fish. We do have a wonderful fresh fish market but it is so expensive, we can only afford it about every few months.
I would definitely prefer something that's not a chain, but when traveling, I would not travel a long distance for food, unless it's something very very special. We have gone a little out of our way to try DDD places, or deep-dish pizza in Chicago. We always do research and try not to just hit the place in the hotel parking lot, but when you're on a road trip, convenience sometimes wins out.
Global cities like London, DC, NYC etc. are a real treat for me because I can find food and beer I wouldn't be able to back home
-Russian/Ukranian cuisine (nice bowl of borscht and manti which are meat stuffed dumplings
-Czech cuisine (schnitzel or duck with dumplings and gravy, red cabbage, rare pilsners)
-Authentic Chinese found in a Chinatown (gimme all the Peking crispy Duck)
(Fresh) Seafood. (Good) Chinese food. Not much of a selection of either here. About once a year I absolutely have to stop and pick up Chinese for dinner. Every year, I take one bite of one or two things and toss the container in the garbage. Every. Single. Year. (20+ years!)
This was a few months ago, the "gravy" I got with my Almond Fried Chicken:
Looked, and tasted, like corn starch and water. May as well have thrown a couple of 20 dollar bills in the trash. Thankfully, husband choked it down over a couple of days.
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